Oops! I meant to add that my backyard is on the east side. I have a two story house that provides shade starting at around 2:00 p.m. against the house and along the south fence. The rest is is full sun for most of the day.

The blue mist spirea, if it is the one properly called Caryopteris clandonensis, is more blue than purple to me - it comes in yellow-ish-leaved cultivars as well, one of which is 'Worcester Gold', flowering in late summer. C. incana is commonly called blue spirea - it is taller and has lavender blue flowers.

Clethra is another one to look for - it has summer flowers, shades of white or pink depending on the cultivar - yellow fall foliage. If hardy where you are, Itea has white summer flowers with some cultivars selected for fall colors. Both, esp. in damp soil, will sucker, but the suckers are easily pulled and cut off close to the base of the parent if noticed early on - toss them or pot them up for placement elsewhere or as a gift.

If hardy for you, the Knock-Out roses get taller than the Home-runs do - the 'Rainbow' cultivar seems not to be as disease-free as the others - 3 pinks (1 double, new this year, 2 singles, pale and dark) and 2 reds (1 single, 1 double). Cut to knee high in early spring, feed monthly (or not at all, depending on soil, but they are better-flowered with some fertilizer) and water - they will grow to 3-5' in the summer and need little or no dead-heading, depending on how close to them you get - if very visible, then dead-head, if at a distance, don't bother, they flower anyway.

Go to various public venues (parks, zoo, arboretum, college campus, etc.) around your area, and you can see what grows well in your area - much of what I can grow here won't do for you, and vice versa. Also, look at the catalogue from High Country Gardens, out of Santa Fe - they will have lots of plants (while mostly perennials, they do have a number of shrubs) that will be good in your climate.

I like various spireas. Bridal wreath gets fairly tall with white flowers in spring, and I get really great fall color on mine. I also like crisp leaf spirea. It blooms for a very long time and also gets great fall color.

Another plant you could think about, although not a shrub is sweet autumn clematis. You said you have a fence and it would certainly cover a large portion of the fence and be filled with flowers and fragrance in the fall.

Love the suggestions! I've actually looked into Clethra and the Worchester Gold...both are now on my list. :) All varieties of Knock out roses do extremely well out here. I love the Homerun variety just because it is even more disease and mildew resistant than the other Knockout's. Because of the grass, there will be overspray, and I'm afraid any other roses would just get covered in black spot and powdery mildew. :(
I hadn't heard of the Bridal wreath spirea. Is it similar to the Vanhoutte? I only ask because my nursery sells the Vanhoutte variety. It is very pretty.
I'm noticing a trend that most spring flowering shrubs either have a pink or white flower (minus forsythia). Anything else out there that I've missed?
Thyme, I'll check out the sweet autumn clematis. It sounds wonderful!

While the Cleveland pear is better shaped than the Bradford, it shares all the other bad attributes of the callery pears - unpleasant odor when flowering, ease of producing seedlings, and while lesser, a tendency to break apart in 15-20 years. One of the flowering crabs or cherries might be a better choice.

There don't seem to be many spring-flowering shrubs/small trees that do flower in other shades than white or pink - 'Prairie Fire' crab is almost red, various of the dogwoods are dark pink, some of the deciduous magnolias are yellow or purple, redbud is a purple-y-red, but I can't think of any that flower blue - granted I can only think of shrubs that flower blue in the summer for the most part, anyway - caryopteris, hydrangeas, vitex, butterfly bushes or Rose of Sharon, off the top of my head.

Bridal wreath spirea is the classic Vanhoutte. I'm fond of the spireas, too - Anthony Waterer with its dusty rose bloom (here my AWs have a coppery tinge to the foliage as a bonus) and a new (to me, anyway) Spirea Japonica "Alpina", a more dwarf, small leaved type, which is starting a seond bloom period now - dusty rose.

And for fragrance alone, you can't beat Philadelphus or Mock Orange.

No interest in adding any slow growing or dwarf conifers to the mix? I have lots of space and am in the process of changing out some of my over abundance of blooming perennials to shrubs and conifers. I like gardening/landscaping and the maintainance it requires, but I'm really liking the look of one specimen taking up the space previously occupied by many.

Kerria blooms yellow. Calycanthus floridus blooms a maroon color. There's also sincalycalycanthus 'hartlage wine' and 'venus'. Very similiar to calycanthus, hartlage wine is maroon and venus is more pinky-white. Aesculus pavia is a darker pinky-red flower. Japanese floweringquince is orange-red and Common floweringquince you can find in a few different colors. Also, the azaleas (northern lights) are in orange or yellow. Crimson cloud Hawthorn has red flowers w/white centers. Witch hazel would give great late-winter/early-spring interest and you can get them in orange, red or yellow.

If you want mainly shrubs, I would not be without Callicarpa when it comes to interest in the garden. The metallic purple berries it is putting out right now is quite a show!

I am also a big fan of Kalmia. The buds and flowers last for weeks, and it's a great evergreen shrub in the border.

The bridal-wreath spirea is similar to vanhouttei. It has smaller flowers.

Here is a picture of the sweet autumn clematis taking over a couple shrubs in my garden!

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You guys rock. You've really given me some new plants to look at. We sell quite a few varieties at the nursery, but never get everything in. Thanks for the great suggestions! I fell in love with the beautyberry from a magazine I got in the mail, and now have to find the most hardy for my zone. As for the rest, you've given me plenty to look up and learn about. Please, keep the suggestions coming. I love learning about your favorite plants.

Heather

Heather,
While you are doing your research, check out Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima', red chokeberry. It is one of my favorites and is becoming easier to find in the trade. The spring flowers are small and inconspicous but the foliage is great and it is absolutely covered in beautiful red berries that last all winter. It is very adaptable and hardy. I wish it was a faster grower but I never fertilize mine, that may make a difference. It propogates very easily from cuttings. Check it out.